People around the world sing many traditional songs that depict the culture of a specific region. But to depict the national identity of the nation, people sing the National anthem. Thus, the national anthem is a patriotic song that evokes a feeling of patriotism among the people.
The words of the national anthem are written by keeping the history, tradition, and struggles of the nation. Moreover, prayer for the long-lasting existence of the country is also narrated in most of the national anthems.
When is the National Anthem Sung?
People of every nation celebrate their independence with frivolous enthusiasm. People decorate their countries with national flags and lights. All the private and government companies, schools, and universities arrange events to commemorate the sacrifices of their ancestors to get independence.
In all such events, the national anthem is played. Moreover, it is also played at the start or the end of traditional and cultural festivals. On the global level, the national anthem is played in the Olympic Games to identify the participating nations.
Additionally, the national anthem of the winning team is played in a medal ceremony. We all observe in cricket matches, the national anthem of both countries is played. Here, one important thing to note is that the song of the host country is played second.
In a few countries, children sing the national anthem in morning school assemblies. In Pakistan, children must sing the national anthem in school assemblies. Whereas in India, the national anthem is played at the start of the movie in a movie theater. In other countries like Colombia and China, the national anthem is played on TV and radio at different times of the day.
People around the world give due respect to national anthems. In a few countries, people stand straight to honor the anthem. All these manners are observed in the country. The respect for your national anthem around the world depends upon your country’s reputation in the global world.
To your surprise, Taiwan is the only country that is not recognized by the Olympics. Therefore, their national banner song is played instead of the national anthem.
Significance of National Anthem
The national anthem is played on the national transmission of the countries to evoke a feeling of patriotism in them. Moreover, the national anthem unites the countries despite their internal and ethnic differences. It is also played on governmental occasions when people have been bestowed civil and government awards.
Additionally, it is played when a winning team gets the awards. In both these cases, people feel proud that they are recognizing their country on a global level. When children sing the national anthem in the morning assembly, they learn how to respect their country and how to become patriotic.
History of the Concept of National Anthem
The national anthem got recognition in the 19th century in Europe. When many countries got independence from colonial powers then new states come up with their national anthems. At present all the independent states have their national Anthems.
Do you know that the national anthem of the Netherlands is called Wilhelmus and it is the oldest national anthem in the world? It was written when there was a Dutch Revolt between 1568 and 1572.
The national anthem of Japan is Kimigayo. It has the oldest lyrics in the world. Its lyrics were taken from the Heian period which was composed in 1880.
The other oldest national anthem is of Spain. The Spanish national anthem called Marcha Real is also one of the oldest national anthems. It was written in 1761.
The national anthem of the UK was played in 1619 under the title God save the king. The Wales national anthem is called Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
It was the first national anthem that was performed on international sports occasions.
The Writers of the National Anthems
The national anthem of the country is always popular among them. In some countries, they are recognized but, in some countries, they remain unknown. For instance, the writer of the British national anthem God saves the queen is unknown.
On the contrary, in many countries, the writers of the national anthem are very popular and most of them are Nobel award holders. The writer of the national anthem of Bangladesh and India is Rabindranath Tagore, and he was a Nobel Prize holder.
The national anthem of the countries is usually written in their mother's official languages. Therefore, they never required translation.
Greek National Anthem - The Longest One
Do you know that the longest national anthem in the world is Greek? Impressed by the Greek people's thrust for liberty and their struggle to liberate themselves from others, Dionysios Solomos wrote the longest national anthem of 158 verses in 1823.
This national anthem depicts the hardships of the Greek people which they suffered from getting liberty from the Ottoman Empire. The music of the Anthem was composed by Nikolaos Mantzaros in 1865.
In the same year, due to the length of the poem, the Greek government decided to use the first two stanzas of the poem as an official national anthem. On 16, November 1966, Cyprus decided to adopt the Greek national anthem because of the violence that broke out in the country.
Greece is the country that introduced the Olympic Games to the world. Therefore, during each official closing of the Olympic Games, the national anthem of Greece is played to give tribute to Greece.
Uruguay National Anthem
The national anthem of Uruguay was composed by Francisco Acuna de Figueroa in 1833 with a length of 150 bars of music. Although the Greek national anthem is the longest one, their government uses the shorter version. The Uruguay government has not taken any such decision.
Therefore, their national anthem is the longest one, and it takes 6 minutes to be sung. It was decided to make this poem a national anthem on July 8, 1833.
Fernando Quijano and Francisco Jose Debali both developed the music for the lyrics that was officially accepted on July 25, 1848. Francisco Acuna has also written the national anthem of Paraguay.
Wrapping Up
No matter whether the National anthem is short or long, it is a significant part of your global recognition. Alive nations always take care of their flags and national anthem. Giving respect to the national anthem means that you are giving respect to your country.
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